Fun story by way of the A.V. Club: Lionsgate is moving forward on pre-production on Action No. 1, a heist comedy revolving around the theft of Nicolas Cage's uber-rare Action Comics No. 1, the first appearance of Superman, a copy of which was stolen from him in 2000. It resurfaced last year, and was eventually sold for over two million dollars. The duo of Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon, who also happened to create Reno 911, will write the film, which will apparently focus on the efforts of a group of nerds to infiltrate Cage's house and lift the priceless objet d'art.
The Hollywood Reporter says that, while Nicolas Cage is a character in the movie, and the part was specifically written for the real actor to play himself, it's "unlikely" that Cage will reprise (?) his role as himself. Which leads to all sorts of questions, obviously: do you rewrite the role to make it about some anonymous celebrity? Or, better, do you cast another actor to actually play Nicolas Cage in a film? If so, who the hell do you choose?
I suppose one could go the traditional route and try to find someone who physically resembles Cage and use makeup and mannerisms to sell the performance (although no one really comes to mind at the moment). Or you could go the more bizarre route and go the I'm Not There. route and recast the role with basically anyone who's willing to step into the probably-icky confines of Nic Cage's head. Why not have Natalie Portman as "Nicolas Cage?" Or Samuel L. Jackson? Or Helen Mirren? Or Tom Cruise? The sky's the limit, if you want it to be.
Regardless of approach, who do you think should play Nicolas Cage in a movie about Nicolas Cage, assuming he doesn't want to do it himself?
